Preview: PFL 5 ‘Delija vs. Greene’

Featherweights

Aspen Ladd (10-4, 1-1 PFL) vs. Karolina Sobek (4-1, 0-1 PFL)

ODDS: Ladd (-175), Sobek (+145)

Once a promising bantamweight prospect in the UFC, Ladd enters PFL 4 with losses in three of her last four outings; and she is just one scorecard away from that being a four-bout skid. After edging Julia Budd via contentious split decision in her PFL debut, Ladd suffered an upset loss to Olena Kolesnyk in the 2023 season opener. It was not an encouraging performance, as Kolesnyk peppered Ladd with her jab and low kicks while countering and moving effectively. Ladd’s attempts to ground Kolesnyk were unsuccessful until the final frame, and she often resorted to swinging wildly in exchanges. On the positive side, it was Ladd’s opponent who missed weight on this occasion. While moving to featherweight may have eliminated the scale issues that plagued Ladd in the UFC, a troubling trend is emerging: The physicality and aggression that carried her at bantamweight are simply not as effective against larger foes at 145 pounds. Ladd’s tenacity and scrambling ability will keep her competitive in fights, but she lacks the technical acumen on the feet to enjoy prolonged success when she is unable to consistently drag her opposition to the canvas.

With that being said, Ladd should still be a favorite against Sobek, a Polish featherweight coming off a unanimous decision loss to Evelyn Martins at PFL 1. Sobek, who has some bareknuckle boxing experience, can be aggressive to a fault, whether that is in striking exchanges or in pursuing submissions. Though she was competitive against Martins, she was not able to impose her will in any one area. She will have the reach advantage against Ladd, and odds are she will be able to land some offense on the feet against an opponent who has never minded absorbing a few punches in order to get a fight to her comfort zone. Still, Sobek lacks Ladd’s high-level experience, and it seems likely she will lose enough of the grappling exchanges and scrambles that the UFC veteran will initiate. Ladd by decision is the pick.

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